Winter, Mark, 1958-: End of the reignbow? 23 March 2011

The cartoon shows Colonel Gaddafi of Libya sitting resolutely on the rim of a huge pot holding '143.8 tonne of gold reserves'. Above him is a rainbow showered with black spots and linked to the words 'End of the reignbow?' (wordplay on 'reign' and 'rainbow') Gaddafi says 'It's a matter of balance the more instability in North Africa, the higher the price of gold, which means I can contribute to the instability of North Africa simple'. Context - Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi is reportedly sitting on a 143.8-tonne US$6.4-billion pot of gold - enough to pay mercenaries to fight for him for years. The gold bullion - held by the Libyan central bank and controlled by Colonel Gaddafi - is among the 25 largest reserves in the world, the Financial Times reported, citing the International Monetary Fund. "If a country like Libya wants to make their gold liquid it would probably be in the form of a swap - whether for arms, food or cash," Walter de Wet, the head of commodities research at Standard Bank, told the Times. (Stuff 22 March 2011)

Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).